Without you, wow, darcy QAQ

Xingyue: ‘What a strange option. As long as I handle it well, it won’t corrupt, right? If you don’t want me to choose it, I’ll choose it anyway, hmph (◦`~´◦)’

“Actually, I’d prefer if you repaid me in another way,” Xingyue said to Nami with a wicked smile.

“Another way?”

The cat girl loli’s face turned red.

“What way?”

“That’s a secret for now. Let’s finish your work first, Nami-chan,” Xingyue said with a smile.

Nami: “…”

****

After entering the cafe.

Because of her cute appearance, and the fact that the white-hair-red-eyes combination was extremely popular.

Xingyue quickly gained a lot of attention.

Xingyue went to the changing room and put on a maid outfit.

The ribbon at her waist perfectly accentuated her slender figure, and the bow at her back trembled with her movements.

The silver bells on the hem of her short skirt jingled against each other, making a soft, pleasant sound. Whenever she turned, the lace ruffles spread out like a blooming night lotus, revealing a section of her white-stockinged legs.

A cat-ear headband was tucked into her fluffy white hair, the fuzzy ears twitching slightly with her breath, making her red eyes seem even more lively.

“Alright, let’s get to work.”

Xingyue took a deep breath, clutched her order pad, and stepped out from behind the counter, immersing herself in the chorus of “meows.”

“Excuse me, miss, what would you like to order?”
As she leaned over, the cat paw brooch on her chest nearly touched the table.

The human girl across from her propped up her chin, her eyes suddenly lighting up:

“Wow! A new maid (✧∇✧)! And she has white hair and red eyes!”

Xingyue: ‘Wait… is this combination really that popular? 🤔’

“I’ll have a cat paw waffle, and…”
Before she could finish, a crisp sound of shattering porcelain came from the next table.

“Huh?”

Xingyue froze, turning to see an orange cat girl maid standing helplessly next to a spilled coffee, the brown liquid dripping down the corner of the table.

Before she could react, Nami had swept past like the wind, flames dancing on her fingertips. The powerful magic instantly evaporated the liquid on the floor.

“Be careful.”

Nami said as she deftly cleaned up the shards.

“I’m sorry… Senior Takanashi…”
The orange cat maid bowed in apology before going to prepare a new coffee.

“Xingyue, a caramel macchiato for table three!” a blue-haired cat girl called from behind the counter.

“Oh, okay!”

Xingyue responded.

And when she went to get the coffee, the orange cat maid from before was there.

“Ugh… what do I do?”

The orange cat maid had been trying to make latte art for a while, but couldn’t create any nice patterns, only a clump of white foam.

Just then, a pair of warm hands suddenly covered hers:

“You need to raise your wrist a little higher.”

Xingyue had appeared behind the orange cat maid at some point.

“You’re the new…?”

“Watch closely, like this—”

Xingyue taught the orange cat maid how to make latte art hand-over-hand. Under their joint efforts, a cute cat pattern gradually emerged on the surface of the coffee.

“And it’s done. Isn’t it cute?” Xingyue said with a smile.

“Th-Thank you…”

The orange cat maid was too shy to speak.

Xingyue: ‘Good thing I learned a lot of skills in my past life. I never thought I’d use them here, meow (=￣ω￣=)’

****

The entire evening, Xingyue felt like she was spinning like a top.

Handing out menus, remembering table numbers, delivering desserts, and even nearly tripping over a cat girl colleague’s tail while clearing tables.

Whenever she was flustered, she could always see Nami’s figure, near or far—sometimes it was a timely rag, other times it was a quietly corrected order.

“Welcome~”
The moment a new customer pushed the door open, the sound of the bell and dozens of sweet “meows” rang out simultaneously.

This time, it was three monster girls in gorgeous school uniforms. Their gazes all landed on Xingyue.

“Wow, so cute!”
A pink-haired girl suddenly reached out and, before Xingyue could react, had grabbed her cat-ear headband.

“Are these fluffy ears real?”

“Um, this…”
Xingyue subconsciously glanced at Nami for help.

The black-haired, red-eyed cat girl appeared beside her almost instantly, grabbing the pink-haired girl’s wrist:

“Sorry, touching the staff is prohibited in this establishment.”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

Perhaps because Nami was too fierce, the three customers apologized profusely.

Then they ran out of the cafe.

“Ah…”

Xingyue was stunned.

“I told you I’m not good at serving customers…”

Nami’s cat ears drooped slightly, her face a little dejected.

…

After several hours of work, it was finally closing time. Xingyue collapsed onto the cushions in the rest area, feeling like she couldn’t lift a single finger.

She watched Nami counting the cash register, the other girl’s cat ears also drooping tiredly, yet she was still humming an off-key song.

“Nami, are you this tired every day?” Xingyue murmured, “I feel like my bones are going to fall apart.”

“It’s nothing. I’m used to it. After all, I chose this part-time job myself.”

After speaking, Nami closed the cash register.

“But today… was indeed a lot easier, thanks to you.”

With that, Nami walked over, took Xingyue’s hand, and kissed it once more.

The cat paw totem on Xingyue’s hand disappeared.

“Eh?”

“It’s alright now,” Nami said.

“So what exactly does this cat paw totem do?” Xingyue asked.

“It’s a simple contract magic. If you don’t do what you promised me, you’ll become my s*ave.”

“Eek ∑(°口°๑)❢❢”

“But you didn’t break your promise. Thank you.”

Xingyue: ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god… good thing I didn’t go with the young lady that night QAQ’

‘If she had, Xingyue would have become Nami’s plaything (sad)’

“By the way, since you’re so busy, why don’t you ask other friends for help?”

Xingyue asked casually.

Nami’s movements stopped, and the light in her red eyes suddenly dimmed.

She looked down at the cash register in front of her and, after a long while, said softly:

“I don’t have any friends.”

“…Huh?”

Those words hit Xingyue’s heart like a heavy stone.

Xingyue: ‘Oh, right…’

Only then did she remember that Nami always sat alone in the back row in class, and during lunch break, she would curl up under a tree, hugging her tail. Her standoffish demeanor indeed made it difficult for people to get close.

“This is tonight’s payment.”

Nami opened her phone, and the moment the transfer notification sounded, she turned her face away.

“Thank you for helping me. I’m heading back first.”

She stood up and walked towards the main door, her long black hair hiding her expression, but her tail was subconsciously curled up.

Xingyue watched her slender back, and for some reason, she was suddenly a little touched.

[Time of Decision!]

[A. “Mhm, goodbye.” (Nami Route ends)]

[B. “Without Nami, watashi QAQ” (Nami Route continues)]

[C. “Who wants to say goodbye to you, you trashy cat girl. With that fierce face, you deserve to have no friends, bleh—” (Enters Imprisonment Ending)]

Xingyue: ‘Huh? Wait a minute? What the heck is an Imprisonment Ending? Σ( ° △ °|||)︴’